Joe Czerwinski

Managing Editor

Reviews wines from Australia, New Zealand and the Rhône.

In his role, Joe Czerwinski manages all aspects of digital and print production for Wine Enthusiast Magazine as well as helping drive the creative direction of the dynamic online and print publications. Czerwinski has been a wine journalist, editor and taster for over a decade and is a regular wine panelist, speaker and educator for events and organizations worldwide. Czerwinski was previously Senior Editor and Tasting Director for Wine Enthusiast Media. Czerwinski currently reviews wines from Australia, New Zealand and the Rhône Valley in France.

This wine is dark brown in hue with a greenish-gold tint to its rim, providing clues to its advanced age. The aromas are nutty, with mossy notes of rancio filled out by sweet flavors of dried dates and figs. It’s full bodied and unctuous in texture, without being overblown or heavy on the palate. The intense finish lingers forever—or at least until you give in and…

So concentrated and aged, this wine’s color is nearly black, with a green-gold rim. Pronounced rancio notes reflect the wine’s age, while the flavors include notes of candied dates, preserved lemons and hints of damp moss and earth. It’s full, smooth and rich, with an intense finish that never ends. This wine should be virtually immortal.

D’Arenberg’s lineup of single-vineyard Shirazes is especially impressive in the 2010 vintage, and this was one of my favorites. The aromas are tight, nearly impenetrable at first, then only stubbornly yielding hints of graphite, but the mouthfeel is expansive and richly textured. Aristocratic notes of pencil shavings balance supple tannins and layers of dark fruit…

Full-bodied and lushly textured, this standout Cabernet showcases huge, superripe fruit, lashings of creamy, vanilla-laden oak and a long finish. It’s still embryonic in terms of its development, but lovers of big New World Cabernets will find it enjoyable already.

Morris is one of the grand old names of Rutherglen, but it has been underrepresented in the U.S. market before now, which no doubt accounts for the consumer-friendly pricing. This nearly black wine reveals scents of mocha and damp moss. There’s a profound rancio quality from stem to stern, while dark notes of molasses and dried dates fill in the midpalate and…

One of the more approachable of the d’Arenberg single-vineyard collection of wines, this opens with notes of brown sugar, tarry fruit and bright cassis. It’s full bodied and creamy in texture, with flavors of mocha, cassis and vanilla that culminate in a long, dusty finish. Drink now–2025.

Full bodied, rich and thickly textured, this is just a bit earthier and chunkier than Chambers’ Rare bottling, while still remaining an outstanding sweet wine. The flavors are dark, earthy and intense, with lots of candied date notes and a lingering finish of molasses.

Extraordinarily delicious is more like it. This is full bodied, supple and rich, with luscious aromas and flavors of mocha, cassis and vanilla that finish long, with some soft, dusty tannins. With all the plushness and primary fruit, it seems a little young right now; drink 2018–2030.